Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for that question. I know that he is very committed to the coalition's promise to scrap the carbon tax as swiftly as possible, because scrapping the carbon tax is very important for Australia's future. Scrapping the carbon tax will help families and pensioners across Australia. It will help workers and businesses across Australia. It will help strengthen our economy and, of course, it delivers on a clear and emphatic commitment that we took to the last election. Unlike the Labor Party, we stick to the commitments that we take to the election after the election.

Unlike the Labor Party, which went to the 2010 election promising that there will be no carbon tax under a government led by Julia Gillard—only to introduce one after the election—we are committed to delivering on the commitments that we took to the last election. Scrapping Labor's carbon tax will help families and will help pensioners because it will bring down the cost of electricity. In bringing down the cost of electricity it will bring down the cost of living. It will help businesses across Australia because it will help reduce the cost of doing business and it will help make the position of workers more secure. It will make jobs more secure because, of course, it will help businesses across Australia prosper.

It will help to strengthen the economy. Look no further than the former government's own economic modelling: the modelling released by the former government showed that as a result of their carbon tax our economy was going to grow by $1 trillion less in 2012 dollars between 2012 and 2050—a whopping $1 trillion of economic growth was taken out of our economy as a result of Labor's carbon tax. Us scrapping the carbon tax will strengthen Australia. (Time expired)